Things I'm Lovin'....

this adorable book...Benjamin and Bumper To The Rescue. 
This book was a Christmas gift to our son from my brother. Initially I was drawn to it because Benjamin is also my son's name, but the second I opened it I was immediately taken by the intricate images of miniature scenery (I notice something astonishingly cute every time we read it). The story also captured my heart as it's about a son rescuing his mother. As my brother also pointed out, it even has a nice vegetarian message at the end. :) You can flip through the pages and buy here, or watch the entire story online here.  

that spring is in the air and that the first day starts this Sunday! 

the song... "Hey Man (Now You'Re Really Living)" by the eels.

Do you know what it's like to fall on the floor
And cry your guts out 'til you got no more
Hey man now you're really living

Have you ever made love to a beautiful girl
Made you feel like it's not such a bad world
Hey man now you're really living

Now you're really giving everything
And you're really getting all you gave
Now you're really living what
This life is all about

Well I just saw the sun rise over the hill
Never used to give me much of a thrill
But hey man now you're really living

Do you know what it's like to care too much
'bout someone that you're never gonna get to touch
Hey man now you're really living

Have you ever sat down in the fresh cut grass
And thought about the moment and when it will pass
Hey man now you're really living

these perfect bedside table lamps. 
Oh, the story that goes along with these beauties (they probably should be in a whole separate post). Oh well, here goes- a year ago I impulsively bought these drum lamp shades on clearance at potterybarn.com to go on a pair of ceramic blue lamp bases that I had since childhood. The shades were a steal-of-a-deal (I think I got them for $14.99 a piece) and loved their subtle ticking stripe pattern (patterned- not all over color shades are hard to find), so I snagged them up. Once they arrived I realized that somehow amidst all of my online shopping giddiness, I missed a BIG detail about them....they have a top mount set for a harp style lamp base that was NOT compatible with my current blue lamp bases. 


I was so embarrassed and disappointed that I immediately called PB customer service to see if I could return them to a PB store (paying shipping on these would have been ridiculous). They said no. More than once actually, emphasizing their set in stone NO RETURN policy on clearance items. But, I still didn't want to be defeated by this purchase so I tried giving them to my parents. They didn't look right on their lamps, so I finally gave up and put them away in our garage. Around the time I was creating our 4th Trimester Nursery I noticed in photos how my blue lamps just weren't right. That's when I remembered the PB drum shades in our garage and decided to start up again with the challenge of finding the right lamp base to make me not feel so stupid for buying the completely wrong type of lamp shades.

This time around I was going to go skip all of guess work (there's a lot to know about lamps!) and go straight to a lamp store. My mom was in town, so I was happy to have her there to calm my frustrations. This store offered to completely re-wire my blue lamp bases to fit the PB drum shades (for around $30). But- then I realized something....they were the wrong size/scale for these shades, and having more light diffusion at their height would be very impractical for all of the reading that my husband and I do in bed. I'm glad I really thought about the functionality of our bedside table lamps, even if that meant spending more $. My mom was a great sport about checking out other stores in town with me, and after a buy and return at Lowes, she spotted a perfect set of heavily weighted silver lamp bases with an adjustable arm (shown above) at Home Depot. I'm happy to report they're perfect for reading and I love, love, love how they look. Oh, and my husband does too. ;)

Numbers print by designer Jenn Ski. 
I won this print for free last year by randomly leaving a comment on Jenn's blog. I just realized that I never did a post showing it framed in our house, so here it is....about a year later! I love the colorful whimsy yet modern feel of her work and how it fits perfectly in our guest/reading/office room.


p.s. funny fact: I just noticed the pregnancy books sitting around in the above photos of our home. Yes, our time to prepare for a new baby is running shorter, and even though we've done this all before, we I still believe in equipping ourselves with a good refresher!